Cycling for Justice: A 17-Day Ride for Tamileelam and the Voice of an Oppressed People

The human rights situation for Tamils in our homeland, Tamileelam (now occupied by Sri Lanka), has not improved since the end of the war in 2009. The Tamil victims and survivors are still awaiting justice, languishing with pain, and suffering under an authoritarian and oppressive rule.

Tamils in Tamileelam have endured structural genocide, with more than a quarter million of them killed by successive Sri Lankan state over 70 years.

According to local and United Nations (UN) statistics, over 146 679 Tamil civilians have been unaccounted for in Tamileelam during the final phase of the war in 2009. Thousands of Tamil men, women, and children were massacred, and hospitals, schools, and refugee centers were bombed and shelled inside the so-called 'No Fire Zones'.

In 2013, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) decided to commence an investigation on Sri Lanka after its continuous denials of war crimes. Later, the Sri Lankan government refused to cooperate with any UNHRC inquiry and to allow UNHRC investigators into the country.

This 17-day bicycle marathon from London to Geneva highlights the plight of the Tamils and seeks justice and solidarity for the people in Tamileelam.

Since the Sri Lankan state and the military were directly involved in Tamil Genocide, none of Sri Lanka’s domestic mechanisms will be independent or credible. Perpetrators cannot be judges and this is why we call for an international independent investigation.

Therefore, we demand the following from the UN and seek your support and solidarity with the Tamils.

1. ⁠Conduct an international independent investigation of Sri Lanka's genocidal crimes.

2. ⁠Immediately release all the political prisoners and prisoners of war

3. Stop the militarisation and land grabbing in Tamil's native places

4. Recognise the Tamil's right to self-determination, right to nationhood, and their traditional homeland.

5. ⁠Recognise the legitimacy of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam